Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos shares how he has transformed the South African senior national team since taking the helm and thanks Helman Mkhalele’s effort.
When Broos assumed the role in 2021, Bafana was ranked outside the top 50 in the Fifa World Rankings and outside the top 10 in the Caf rankings.
In recent years, the Belgian coach has led the team to notable successes, including winning the bronze medal at the latest edition of the Caf Africa Cup of Nations.
Broos also secured qualification for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to take place in Morocco this December.
Moreover, the 73-year-old mentor guided Bafana to qualify for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the United States – marking South Africa’s first appearance in the tournament since 2002.
Speaking after the recent 2-0 victory over Rwanda, Broos revealed how he managed to turn the team’s fortunes around, with Bafana now ranked within the top 50 globally and among the top 10 teams in Africa.
“This is a team that worked (hard) for the last three years to have all those performances and nice moments,” Broos said.
“I can’t forget my staff because they helped me a lot especially Helman (Mkhalele), I like him very much.
“So, without him we shouldn’t have achieved that. It’s not only my staff, but the medical staff also who works day and night to have players ready to do big performances.
“The kit manager, the security manager, the team manager. We are a bunch of people who have only one goal and that is doing good performances and winning things.
“I think this is not the work for me alone.”
Broos has been criticised at time with his player selection and the coach stated what he looks for in a player to be in his plans.
“I insist also to see what the players did in the last three years. And I know you (media & fans) you not always agree with the choices I made,” he added.
“And I said already that I choose on different criteria (player) choices than you do. For me it’s important to have a player with quality first of all, a player with a right mentality and a player who can do what I ask him to do.
“And till now, I always succeed to do it. Even you said this player or this player needed a chance. That’s not how you build a team.
“You need a plan, and you need to keep the plan because you know that this is a right way.
“And that is what we did in the last three years. This is fantastic not for us as coaches or players but for the nation.
“I heard after the game someone said everybody laughed at Bafana Bafana, we’re a joke but now we’re on high level and everybody respect us.”
Written by Ayanda Vezi